Mr. Speaker, that is why I referred to this bill as a total waste of time. The government has time to consult with the Canadians to whom this bill matters. There is no consultation. We do not hear anything. When somebody raises a question, the Liberals call him or her bogus; they call them phony. That is not fair. At the end of the day, the government has to do its job in regard to what matters to Canadian citizens, what matters to our own people first, before making any attempt to change anything that falls around us.

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise to speak today to second reading of Bill C-47, an act to amend the Export and Import Permits Act and the Criminal Code with amendments permitting the accession to the Arms Trade Treaty and other amendments.

This legislation is of concern to law-abiding firearms owners in my constituency of Battle River—Crowfoot. Many of us own firearms, and we use them on our farms and ranches as tools for rodent control and so on. We also enjoy sport shooting.

The Liberals' firearms laws have cost us dearly over the past decades. They have cost us considerable worry and paperwork. They have cost money that many of my constituents just do not have to spend on renewing licenses and filling out application forms and more.

Once again we see the Liberals pandering to the United Nations in their attempt to win a seat on the UN Security Council. The Liberal government is desperate for that seat and is willing to do anything to ingratiate itself with anyone who might cast a vote in favour of Canada's becoming a member.

The Liberals have snooped around and have found a military equipment treaty that Canada has yet to ratify, and that is what Bill C-47 is about. The Liberal government is forcing Canada to meet certain obligations contained in this treaty. Canada will be required to implement brokering controls. Under the proposed bill, brokering is defined as arranging or negotiating a transaction that relates to the movement of goods or technology on a brokering control list from one foreign country to another foreign country.

Our previous Conservative government did not ratify this treaty because it was really a treaty that was written for other nations. Canada is recognized as having a very responsible internal system to monitor and control the export of military and security equipment that meets or exceeds the United Nations treaty.

Canada's Trade Controls Bureau regulates the Export and Import Permits Act, which since 1947 has allowed the minister to prevent the supply of military equipment to countries for a variety of reasons, countries that are a security threat or are involved in internal or external conflict or are under sanctions of the United Nations. Canada can decide whether or not it will export to those countries.

Specific items that are already heavily restricted by Canada include military or strategic dual-use goods; nuclear energy materials and technology; missile technology; chemical and biological goods; and many other kinds of equipment. Treaties are already there for these goods.

Canada is already tracking and recording more than required under the treaty. The Canada Border Services Agency and Statistics Canada collect information on all items exported from Canada and classify the items using categories negotiated by the World Customs Organization.

Canada can also utilize a blanket ban on trade with high-risk countries through the use of the area control list under the Export and Import Permits Act. Although it takes an act of the Governor in Council, a country can be placed on that list. North Korea is currently on that list. In the past the list has included Belarus and Myanmar, as my colleague from Brandon—Souris mentioned.

Major countries that represent the majority of the sales of military equipment, Russia and the United States, have either not signed on to the treaty or have not and likely will not ratify it.

Why did I go through those four items that already show that Canada has the opportunity to regulate and to watch a country? I did it because this legislation is simply overkill. That is why the United States is not going with it. That is why Russia and other countries are not likely to ratify the agreement, although they may have signed on to it.

As with many ineffective international treaties, the key participants in the arms trade are not part of the treaty, but the Liberals want Canada to sign this treaty anyway. Why on earth do the Liberals want Canada to sign on to a treaty that was not designed with Canada in mind and is focused on other countries? Who knows why the Liberals would bring this legislation forward?

I can tell the House why I believe they did and I will tell the House in a few moments exactly what my constituents believe the Liberals are up to.

I believe this treaty will affect Canada in a negative way. Let me give the House a couple of examples.

The Department of National Defence, as a department of the crown, is traditionally exempted from the export control system. Bill C-47 would force the Department of National Defence to adhere to erroneous sections of export control systems like never before, but the Liberals do not really care about that. They just want to be able to say that Canada has ratified this United Nations agreement, this UN treaty. The United Nations will indeed be surprised, because former Prime Minister Stephen Harper declined to put Canada through this, and the international community understood why he said “no thanks” and accepted it.

We were not pushed into this. The folks at the UN will be surprised that of all things, the current Prime Minister is willingly and feverishly and actively trying to ratify this treaty. Many at the UN will consider this dusting off of an old treaty rather odd, but they will recognize that it is simply the Prime Minister desperately trying to do something, and in this case it may be that he might be able to get a few extra votes for the United Nations Security Council. They will understand and see right through this disingenuous offer to ratify.

Right now exports of military aid or government-to-government gifts do not require authorization and occur without oversight by Canadian export control officials, but with the passage of Bill C-47, Canada will be required to bring our Department of National Defence into the export control system. In other words, our national defence will now be under this agreement. This arrangement would actually work against helping other nations. It will burden Canada whenever we want to help other nations. The Department of National Defence will have more red tape—a lot more, perhaps—to cut through before we can provide the goods or services we used to be able to provide without hesitation.

How does this fit with “Canada is back”? The Prime Minister is actually putting Canada in a much more difficult position. Canada is one step back with the Prime Minister making the statement, but he has set Canada two steps back when it comes to being able to help other countries. The Prime Minister said Canada is here to help, but again, the bill would add more red tape and require the Department of National Defence to do much more.

The Liberals are denying that they are launching any new form of gun registry with the bill. However, there is a requirement for exporters or importers to retain records in a specific electronic file for a period of up to six years. This file must be made available to the ministry upon its request at any point of time. Again, my constituents question whether this requirement does not create some kind of a registry. Does this not create a registry that would be available to the minister in electronic form, naming firearms and the people who have them?

The information has to contain all the particulars pertaining to the sale, import, or export of a firearm. As well, the information does not just deal with firearms alone—

I will have to interrupt the hon. member. He will have one minute and 30 seconds left when we return. At this time, we are going to suspend until we return at the call of the Chair. I urge everyone to evacuate the building. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, in 17 years as a member of Parliament, that is the first time that has happened while I have been giving a barnburner of a speech. I did not realize that somebody would pull the fire alarm because it was such a smoking speech.

I was talking about the concern that the Liberals are trying to push through the back door what they would not be willing to bring through the front door: something very much like a registry, if not an actual registry of the kind we had. Make no mistake: when Allan Rock established the long-gun registry in the 1990s, my constituents were against it and have been against it since then. When the Conservatives were elected under the Right Hon. Stephen Harper, it was one of the commitments we made, and we did it. We said we would get rid of the long-gun registry, and we did. We said that we would get rid of all of the data so that it could not be brought up again, and we did.

Now the government is saying that if we do not have the ability to do it here, let us do it somewhere else, and the United Nations stands as a beacon for an opportunity to bring forward some type of registry. Conservatives say no. We are not going to take the chance. Liberals give us platitudes and tell us to worry not and fear not, but we have seen this show before and we are not going to stand for another registry.

In closing, I would ask this one question. When red tape is added, do members believe that will make the export and import of firearms more expensive or less expensive? If somebody bringing firearms into Canada now has to deal with all of this paperwork and red tape, will it make it more difficult to bring them in? Is it going to drive the cost of firearms up?

The Liberal government is going to do all it can to punish lawful firearms owners in this country, and Conservatives will have nothing to do with it.

Mr. Speaker, on August 30, I travelled to Cape Saint Mary in my riding of West Nova to announce financial support from the Government of Canada to help create Cape Saint Mary Lighthouse Park.

Thanks to the leadership of the Municipality of Clare and the dedicated support of many community volunteers, Cape Saint Mary Lighthouse Park will provide a focal point for showcasing the breathtaking views, beautiful sunsets, and rugged coastline along St. Mary's Bay. The park will also be home to the community's lost at sea memorial, which will commemorate the many local fishers who have lost their lives while trying to support their families back on dry land.

I want to congratulate the committee, which was so instrumental in moving this project forward.

I look forward to celebrating its achievements at the official opening of the park later this fall, and I congratulate it on a job well done.

Mr. Speaker, constituents in my riding of Calgary Heritage are expressing genuine concern about the cash grab the government is making at the expense of small-business owners. These measures penalize entrepreneurship and wrongly depict law-abiding small-business owners, who have built their business models around long-established rules, as somehow now cheating the system. In addition to insulting hard-working Canadians, the government is also threatening growth by disrupting a sector of the economy that accounts for much of the country's private labour force.

It is not too late for the government to backtrack from these harmful measures and to step away from a proposal that will prove punishing for many middle-class taxpayers. Will the government do right by business owners, or will it continue on this punitive path?

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, I had the pleasure of joining the Prime Minister and the executive chairman of Alibaba Group, Jack Ma, for Gateway '17 in Toronto.

I learned about China's new class of consumers and that high-quality products like fresh food, lifestyle brands, and travel experiences are hugely sought after by China's large and growing middle-class population, which is looking online for the best products and experiences from countries like Canada. With the rise of the digital marketplace, Alibaba offers exciting new opportunities for Canadian small and medium-size enterprises to sell to this market.

I am proud of our government's initiative and its efforts to invest in innovation and technologies that are crucial to international trade and that support Canadian businesses and entrepreneurs. These commitments will help grow a future innovative economy that will create Canadian middle-class jobs for today and tomorrow.

Mr. Speaker, this summer I had the pleasure of visiting the Coldwater reserve near Merritt, British Columbia. Chief Lee Spahan showed me where the existing Trans Mountain pipeline cuts through the reserve and its water supply. He reminded me that this pipeline, now owned by Kinder Morgan, is a strong symbol of our colonial past. It was rammed through Coldwater and other reserves in the 1950s, when indigenous people were prohibited by law from voting in elections or hiring lawyers.

Yesterday the Federal Court of Appeal ruled that the federal government failed in its duty to protect the interests of the Coldwater band by granting new land access rights based on old, unjust colonial arrangements, thus jeopardizing Kinder Morgan's future pipeline expansion plans.

The Prime Minister portrays himself as the champion of reconciliation. A reconciliation champion would not appeal this ruling. A reconciliation champion would not contemplate using the army to force new pipelines through reserves by arresting first nation people and their allies. A true reconciliation champion would reverse the decision on Kinder Morgan.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to wish Mr. Lloyd Seaward, of Bishop's Falls, Newfoundland and Labrador, a happy birthday. On October 3, Lloyd will be turning 100 years old.

In 1939, Mr. Seaward joined the Royal Navy. While on patrol in the English Channel, he was injured and sent to the Royal Navy hospital. The doctor recommended sending him home to Newfoundland, but Lloyd said, “No way.” He demanded that he stay and went back on the patrol boats.

In 1942, while on patrol, his cruiser sank in the Java Sea, and he was taken as a prisoner of war by the Japanese. In prison, he was seen making a pair of wooden clogs by an officer. When asked if he was a shoemaker, he said, “Sure.” He was transferred to Makasura camp, where he made boots for the Japanese army. While there he learned to speak Japanese and Malay, which he now speaks to his grandkids. Lloyd stayed with the Royal Navy until 1947.

I am happy to say that Lloyd is still in good health. He says he runs more than he walks. I wish Lloyd a happy 100th birthday.

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals do not want the small business tax increase debated in this House, so I am going to take this opportunity to stand up for my constituents of Lambton—Kent—Middlesex and voice their concerns.

My riding is made up of small and medium-sized businesses, with agriculture as the main driver. My constituents are concerned, frustrated, and angry about this planned Liberal tax increase. Only 75 days were given, during the busy season of harvest time, for farmers to respond. Here is one of the big questions from my constituents: Why tax us and leave your wealthy Liberal friends untouched? It is called Liberal entitlement and hypocrisy.

Mr. Speaker, on September 30, we remember the children who survived the residential school system and those who did not. However, our historical mistreatment of indigenous peoples extends well beyond residential schools and is our most fundamental injustice, one we must all be committed to correcting. An important step towards that reconciliation is education, and my office recently co-hosted a Kairos Kitchi blanket exercise, alongside MPP Arthur Potts and Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon.

I want to thank Kairos for their educational outreach, which should be in every school across Canada. More than 100 constituents joined us, and dozens more attended our public forum on reconciliation that followed. The message my constituents asked me to take back is this: we have made the right commitments on access to clean water, on ending discrimination, on implementing UNDRIP, and on meeting the needs of indigenous children, among others. We must continue our work to ensure that these promises are kept. Reconciliation depends on action.

Mr. Speaker, the national strategy on abandoned and wrecked vessels, part of the $1.5 billion oceans protection plan, is an important part of our commitment to preserve and restore Canada's pristine marine ecosystems.

Our government has acted on many cases of derelict vessels, such as the Farley Mowat, which for too long threatened the marine environment in my riding. We will work with our partners to develop proactive plans to address large commercial vessel problems according to the risks they pose. Another concrete step in our plan was the tabling last week of the Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks, 2007, which brings Canada one step closer to aligning with international standards and strives to make Canada a leader in marine protection.

Our government takes environmental stewardship seriously and will be introducing legislation shortly to further address this issue as we continue to demonstrate that a clean environment and a strong economy can and must go together.

Mr. Speaker, on September 11, a grass fire started on Canadian Forces Base Suffield. The fire jumped the fireguard and spread to ranchers' fields, losing nearly 90,000 acres. One hundred and sixty cattle died. Farms were evacuated. One farm site was destroyed, and undetermined miles of fence and infrastructure are burnt. An 89-year-old man has been left homeless. Winter feeding pastures have been lost and will take years to replenish. Residents had to leave their homes in the middle of the night, and everyone tirelessly fought this fire.

Fires coming from CFB Suffield are common, as they explode ordinances and carry out their exercises. There remain many unanswered questions about this fire. Why did the base cause a fire when southern Alberta was under a fire ban? Why was the base's emergency response so inadequate?

I thank the Minister of National Defence for meeting with me to hear my constituents' concerns. We hope that progress will be made quickly with the internal review and that the local community will be kept advised as to the process and the results.

Mr. Speaker, on Friday night, Jewish people around the world will observe Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism. Yom Kippur translates to the Day of Atonement and marks the culmination of 10 days of reflection that began on Rosh Hashanah.

This year we have another cause for reflection. Yesterday the Prime Minister inaugurated the National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa. This memorial will allow Canadians of all faiths to remember the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust. It will ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust remain within our consciousness for generations to come so that we may never again see history's darkest period repeated.

I want to recognize the hard work of the National Holocaust Monument development council, led by Fran Sonshine, and the incredible generosity and effort of the many Canadians who worked to make this dream a reality.

In this time of reflection, may we resolve in our words and our deeds to combat hate, intolerance, and anti-Semitism.

Mr. Speaker, September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, a chance to honour the 10,000 children currently fighting cancer today, to remember the many children we have lost, and to support childhood cancer survivors.

Although 75% of children survive cancer, more than 80% of survivors face late effects of their diseases and harsh treatments, including heart failure, lung disease, and secondary cancers. There is no known cause for childhood cancer, and therefore no prevention strategy.

Our government will continue to support cancer research so that children will have the chance to grow up. I see many of my colleagues across the aisle and on all sides of the House wearing gold pins today. They were donated by the parents of Maggie Jenkins, who passed away in 2014 at the age of 13.

It is clear to me that this House stands united in continuing to work to end childhood cancer for Maggie and for every other child suffering needlessly at the hands of this insidious disease.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the contributions that hunters, anglers, trappers, farmers, and ranchers make to Canada's conservation successes. While activists focus on talk and politics, it is those who actually live and work on the land who are Canada's most effective conservationists.

September 16 was National Hunting, Trapping and Fishing Heritage Day, which is a day to recognize the millions of Canadians who enjoy hunting, trapping, and fishing. I am one of them, and I am proud to defend our interests every step of the way.

Hunters fund most wildlife management projects. Anglers are the first to get in the water and improve fish habitat. Trappers care more about wildlife ecosystem balance than anyone else. Farmers and ranchers sequester carbon, preserve habitat, and work the land with pride. These are Canada's best conservationists and true environmentalists, and they deserve to be accorded respect.

Heading into the fall, I wish them all bountiful harvests, tight lines, and straight shooting.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome to Ottawa the ministers of tourism and indigenous leaders attending the meeting of the Canadian Council for Tourism Ministers.

Our government knows that tourism is an economic driver, representing almost 2% of GDP and supporting more than 1.7 million jobs across Canada.

That is why the Minister of Small Business and Tourism announced Canada's new tourism vision, our plan to support the growth of Canada's tourism sector, create jobs, and grow our economy for the middle class.

By working with our provincial, territorial, and indigenous colleagues, we are ensuring that the momentum we experienced this year celebrating Canada 150, and expect to continue in 2018 with the Canada-China Year of Tourism, continues for years to come.

Mr. Speaker, over the course of the summer, I had the privilege of talking to many of my constituents about matters that are important to them, such as softwood lumber, support for seniors and the future of agriculture.

I deeply value the trust that my constituents have placed in me. That is why I am proud to join in the community support for such major projects as Théâtre Palace Arvida, Jonquière en musique and Distillerie du fjord, the first of its kind in my area.

My region of Saguenay has an abundance of great projects, such as the Cercle des fermières de Saint-Charles-de-Bourget; they were able to invest in looms, which are key to artisanal knowledge.

These are just a few examples of the community's wealth and engagement and why I am proud to support and be a part of the Saguenay community.

Mr. Speaker, my offices in Parry Sound—Muskoka have been inundated with calls and emails from small business owners expressing their deep concerns at the proposed Liberal tax grab.

Recently, I met the owner of Sawdust City Brewing, one of several craft breweries in my riding. The owner, Rob Engman, told me the Liberal money grab will be damaging to his business prospects.

Let me run down the list of some of the other small businesses in Parry Sound—Muskoka whose owners have expressed the same concerns: Ontario Cottage Rentals, Kidd's Home Hardware, Festing Motors, Muskoka MediSpa, Knox Chiropractic, Miller's Eavestroughs and Doors, Desmasdons Boat Works, The Stair Guy, Jake's Place Restaurant, and Chestnut Lane Kitchen and Bath. I could go on.

I simply urge the government to hear the voices of worried small business owners, and put an end to this harmful tax grab.

Mr. Speaker, Friday's sunset marks the beginning of the holiest day of the year for Jewish people across Canada and around the world.

Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, is the most holy day on the Jewish calendar. It is a day of fasting, prayer, and reflection, and a day on which Jews are required to take stock of their lives, to ask forgiveness from friends and family, and to take steps toward self-improvement for the year to come.

As my fellow Jewish Canadians gather on this holy day, I would like to remind all Canadians that diversity makes us stronger. We are a mosaic of other cultures, and in my riding of Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, I am proud of how we have created a place where all can come together to respect and celebrate the various religions, cultures, and differences that make our community and country great.

I would like to wish everyone observing Yom Kippur in my own riding, across Canada, and around the world an easy fast.

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister moved quickly to reach a secret agreement to compensate Omar Khadr. He did it in the middle of summer when he thought the media would not be paying attention and when MPs were not in Ottawa. He did so even before the families of Omar Khadr's victims had a chance to testify in court. He did everything he could to keep this hidden from Canadians.

I am giving him the opportunity to be honest with Canadians and to tell us himself how much money he really gave Omar Khadr.

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to Omar Khadr, there is only one issue, and that is the actions of previous governments that failed to stand up for and even violated Canadians' rights.

When Canadian governments do not respect and defend Canadians' rights, everyone pays the price.

I am outraged, the opposition is outraged, and Canadians are outraged by this settlement, and understandably so. They should hold on to that feeling because if people remember this, then a government will never again violate—